When you've braved open heart surgery at 36 hours' old, a bit of cold water is nothing to be afraid of.
Tauranga groups and individuals raised money for heart children on Saturday by taking part in the Heart Children Heart Stopper Challenge - a five-minute dip in icy cold water.
Among those
taking part was Andrew Wain, who took the plunge as part of the Fit.Co gym "Braveheart" team.
It's hard to believe the champion bodybuilder was once a "heart kid" himself. He had undergone two open-heart surgeries by the age of 5, after he was born with the left side of his heart not properly formed.
So Mr Wain was first in line when Fit.Co, the gym he trains at, decided to enter a team in the Heart Stopper Challenge.
Dressed in tartan kilts and blue facepaint, the six-strong Braveheart team took to the water armed with plastic swords.
And while most teams couldn't wait to leap out once their five minutes was up, the Bravehearts made a point of staying in a few seconds longer.
"It wasn't as bad as I expected," a chilly Mr Wain said.
Warmed with tea, coffee and hot chocolate post-dip, the team was pleased their effort had raised more than $1000 for the cause.
Stuart Watson, of Heart Children Bay of Plenty, expected the event, held at Bunnings Warehouse in Mount Maunganui, to raise about $5000-6000.
The icy water represents the process children go through before their open-heart surgeries - the chest cavity is cooled down to slow their heart rate.
Every year, 450 open heart surgeries are performed on children in New Zealand. Teams from organisations including Bunnings, Heart Children, ASB and St John also took an icy dip, as did Tauranga MP Simon Bridges.
